28 November 2008
Bujumbura — A weeklong strike by health workers in Burundi has cut services in key hospitals to a bare minimum, with patients complaining of neglect.
"I have constant pain in my stomach and chest; I recently gave birth but remained unwell and in need of medical care," Cecile Ndayishimiye, a patient in Bujumbura, the capital, said. "I gave birth two weeks now but my child is not breastfeeding because I am sick; this strike is too bad for me."
The nurses and physicians, covered by three unions, began their strike on 24 November to protest against the non-implementation of agreements with the government, including salary increases and improved working conditions.
"The government continues to remain silent about our claims instead of earnestly looking at ways of settling them," stated a communiqué released after a meeting on 27 November by the three unions - Syndicat des Médecins du Burundi, the Syndicat des Médecins Généralistes du Burundi and the Syndicat National du Personnel Paramedical.
The unions said the strike would continue indefinitely until the government honoured the agreements.
However, union officials said they were available for talks with the government and that they would ensure minimum services were provided in health facilities, in compliance with the law requiring the care of patients needing emergency treatment.
Government officials said implementation of the statutes would have an impact on its budget and that this needed to be worked out before implementation.
In Prince Regent Charles Hospital, Clinique Prince Louis Rwagasore and the University Hospital of Kamenge-Roi Khaled, all in Bujumbura, physicians and nurses have been gathering in patients' waiting rooms, dressed in their uniforms but only talking to each another.
Patients said the minimum service provided was not enough, especially for those in serious condition.
Most of the hospitals' doors remained closed; only a few nurses were doing rounds in wards where patients were admitted.
On 27 November, nurses made lists of patients in need of urgent treatment in the three main hospitals. However, some patients questioned the criteria used to determine who was on the lists.
Aline Nizigama, a relative of Jeannine Ndayishimiye, admitted to Prince Regent Charles, told IRIN: "Jeanine is suffering from malaria, she cannot even speak. We were told that if she finishes the medicine she is taking, we will have to pay for the next dose to be administered to her yet we had already paid the money required before receiving medical attention."
She said she would look for the money only if she was assured her relative would be treated.
Rogatien Nyobewumusi said the sick were not part of the dispute between the health workers and the government: "It is us who are affected by this strike; both sides should sit together and settle the striking workers' problems."
Nyobewumusi said he last received treatment on 26 November yet the burn injuries he sustained from an electricity accident continued to ache.
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
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